“I’m getting too old for this shit.” Adrian plopped the crate of sweet potatoes on top of the counter, then wiped the back of his arm across his forehead, only serving to smear dirt. “How the hell did I already get dependent on having Moses around? That boy is skinny, but he’s as strong as a horse.” He made a show of rubbing the small of his back. “He’s only been gone one day and I’m ready to hire a live-in massage therapist.”

I grinned at him. “Thirty-six might be a little young to retire, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t say anything about retiring. However, I think it’s time we brought on a few more people. Even though Moses is going to be back in a couple of weeks, come fall he’ll be in school. It’s not like we can’t afford to bring in another person or two full-time.”

I’d been after him to do that for over a year. We already employed two part-time positions at the Green Violin and had four others working full-time at the farm and greenhouse, but Adrian and I had still been working our fingers to the bone. It was fun to tease Adrian any chance I got, and I needed the distraction after the scene from the night before. I hadn’t been able to get my equilibrium back. Connor’s call that morning telling me he was going to send Moses with Gilbert and Walden early made it clear how the night had affected him as well. And reminded me how much I could’ve lost two decades before. “What about Colin and Madison? If working in the fields is good enough for the kids in my family….”

He scoffed. “Colin is nine and Madison is seven. And did you forget how my family feels about my profession? A descendent of a founding family doing grunt work for a living?”

“It’s good enough for me, and I’m from a founding family.”

Adrian leveled his gaze at me. “Yeah, but you’re insane and the whole town knows it. Leaving New York City for Lavender Shores they understand. Trading playing at the Philharmonic for digging in the dirt, they most definitely do not.”

It was a little too close to home, so I sought a distraction and found it easily enough. “But that can’t be true for Colin and Madison. Your sister is a lesbian. Surely she and her wife don’t hold such views.” Try as I might, I couldn’t keep the chuckle out of my voice. “After all, farmers wear flannel. And lesbians….”

Adrian threw back his head and roared in laughter, slapping his thighs. When he was able to speak again, he had to wipe the tears from his eyes, which only made the streaking dirt across his face worse. “I have half a mind to tell your father that you’re engaging in such stereotyping of the L members of our town.”

I shrugged. “The real sin is that Amelia and Bethany are more your lipstick lesbian types than the flannel-wearing types.”

Adrian laughed again but not as hard. “See, there you go again. Ascribing to such labels might just get you kicked out of town, and then you’ll find yourself back in New York City whether you want to or not.”

And there we were again. Goddammit. I sought for another subject change. “Have your date with Garrison yet? Did you make it worth all the thousands he paid for you the other night?”

“A lady never tells.” He stopped laughing, but gave a coy shrug. “But, let’s just say, if word gets out and they have that stupid thing again next year, I’ll raise twice as much.”

“That’s my man!” I laughed and clapped him on the back. “So, do you think there’ll be a date number two?”

“Nah.” Adrian shook his head and waggled his eyebrows. “I’ve got my sights set on that new bookseller after seeing him onstage the other night.”

It took me a second. “Jasper Getty? Really? You have a thing for redheads? How in the world have I known you all these years and am just finding this out?”

He shrugged again. “I’m Latino. We like our redheads. They’re fiery, like us.” More waggling of eyebrows. “Put us together and… explosions!” He thrust his hips on the last word.

“Oh my God, thank you for that visual. Please excuse me while I hurl.”

Adrian laughed again, but his attention was caught by something out the window. “Speaking of a man who can make me explode…. I know he’s not a redhead, and I know he’s your brother and all, but damn.”

I followed his gaze and saw Connor walking by the window. He paused and glanced in, having to hold up his hand to the glass to see past the sunset’s glare. My heart sped up. But I was careful to keep my expression neutral with Adrian beside me. Not that it was hard. I’d only had nearly a lifetime of practice. I went around the counter and wove through the artistically arranged platforms of produce on my way to the door. If something was wrong, surely he would’ve called. I flipped the lock and opened the door for him. “Everything okay? It’s getting late.”

When his eyes met mine, all concern for Moses faded. That wasn’t why he was here. Not at all. “Everything’s fine. Moses left with Gilbert and Walden a few hours ago. I just finished up with a client. And I was thinking, since I have the house to myself, maybe we could—” His words broke off as he stepped inside and saw Adrian. “Oh, um… hey.”

The previous night must’ve affected Connor more than he let on. I’d never seen him so close to messing up. He was always double and triple checking. Although, the other night in the classroom….

“Hey, big man.” Adrian crossed the shop and slapped Connor's hand in one of those straight-boy handshakes I could never pull off. “Glad you came by. I have a bone to pick with you. You stole my help away from me today. I think it’s only fair you meet me at the farm tomorrow. We can put all those muscles to use.”

Connor glanced at me, still flustered. “I suppose I could—”

“Shut up, Adrian.” I relocked the front door and joined them. “Always looking for free labor. Plus, Connor’s gotta protect his hands. He can’t have them all messed up and do tattoos.”

“It’s picking carrots, not roadwork.” He gave Connor a wink. “Fine. No hard labor. Show up in a pair of overalls and no shirt, it’ll give me enough motivation that I’ll clear a field in half an hour.” He smacked Connor’s shoulder and laughed good-naturedly. “Just kidding, big man. Don’t get me wrong, you’re sexy as hell, but you’re Micah’s brother, and he’s kinda like mine, so that would just make it… gross.” He shuddered. And knowing him as well as I did, it was clear it wasn’t too much of a show. God, if Adrian thought Connor was off-limits because he was my brother…. “I gotta go clean up, but Micah and I were just getting ready to grab dinner at Mabel’s. Why don’t you join us?” Adrian didn’t wait on an answer, just turned around and headed off toward the restroom in the back.

Connor leaned to one side, watching him go, then faced me, his voice low. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even thinking. If I had said two more words—”

“You didn’t. It’s all good. Besides, you’re the one who has a problem with people knowing. Not me.” It was an old jibe, one that usually held a lot more venom. But I didn’t have it in me. Not after the night before. Not after seeing Adrian’s reaction. Not after my conversation with Seth.

Even though I hadn’t said it in a hurtful way that time, Connor winced. “Well. It sounds like you have plans. I should let you get to them.” He turned and started to walk to the door.

I grabbed his hand and held on until he stopped moving.

As always, he glanced around, checking. “I shouldn’t have come by. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

I stepped into him. Just long enough to press my body against his. “I actually think it was pretty clear what you were thinking.” I meant to move away quicker, but I caught a whiff of him, the sweat from a long day, the smell of fresh ink.

Connor arched back, and pulled his hand from mine, another glance over my shoulder. “Well, it was a stupid idea. Honestly, I figured you’d have plans with Seth. But you already do with Adrian, so never mind.”

“Adrian? There’s nothing between me and Adrian.” For a second I forgot I hadn’t told him about Seth, hadn’t told anyone. But if he thought Adrian and I were….

“I didn’t mean there was.” He sighed. “Again, sorry. I should be stronger. This” —he motioned between us—“just makes everything confusing. And things are up in the air enough. I’ll leave you alone.”

This time when he turned to walk away, Adrian came to the rescue as he stepped back into the main room. “You boys ready to get your fried chicken on?”

“I sure am.” I jumped in before Connor could say anything. “Connor can’t stand fried chicken. But he’ll eat enough meatloaf to work his way through three head of cattle.”

Connor glared at me but didn’t object.

“Great!” Adrian came up between us and threw his arms over our shoulders, at least as much as he could, since he was several inches shorter than both of us. “Dinner with two handsome men. Must be a day that ends in Y.”

Dinner was a bit of sweet torture. Knowing why Connor had come to the shop. Knowing that no matter what he said, I’d be underneath him before the night was over. I wanted to rush through dinner, get away from Adrian. But I knew what would happen. Connor and I would fuck. Maybe fast and furious and raw, maybe slow and tender and sad. Either way, the minute it was done, he’d come to his senses and run. At least I could be with him a little longer while we ate, get to be in his presence. Keep assuring myself he was safe. That he wasn’t about to disappear. That the vestiges from the night before had no hold over reality.

“When I heard it was you lot I was cooking for, I decided to bring out your food personally.” After Mabel set down our plates, she rubbed Connor on the back in a motherly way as she placed his platter of meatloaf in front of him. She had a soft spot for Connor, always had. Of course that was true for the entire town from the moment he’d moved in. She waved dismissively at Adrian and me. “These two hooligans I see all the time. Selling me their goods at double market price just because they claim to be organic.” She winked.

Connor grinned up at her, suddenly looking like the boy I remembered from childhood when we’d come here to eat. “Thanks, Miss Mabel. Sorry I haven’t been in lately.”

Her face grew serious. “Never you mind that. You’ve had your hands full. I have to say, I’m mighty proud of you for taking in that nephew of yours.” To my surprise, she wiped at her eyes. Mabel was about as kindhearted as you could get, but she wasn’t a softy by any stretch of the imagination. She sniffed and then gave her shoulders a tiny shimmy and straightened, as if reminding herself of that very thing. “Anyway, it’s awful good, what you’re doing. Makes me even more glad for all the money Sapphire and I dropped on that date with Andrew and Joel to support building the youth center. Sometimes it’s easy for me to forget that even though things are better than when I was young, there’s still a long ways to go outside the town limits.” She gave a little chuckle. “And you know that if my wife and I are paying good money for a set of cocks, there’s a damn fine reason.”

As much as I loved her, and as certain as I was the sentence had been said in complete jest, it took an effort for me not to shudder at the mental image it brought up.

It didn’t seem to bother Adrian. “Trust me, Miss Mabel. I can’t speak about Joel, but you’ll get your money’s worth with Andrew. Granted, I haven’t sampled him since back in the day, but still. They say things get better with age.”

“Hey!” I smacked Adrian. “That’s Andrew you’re talking about. And I didn’t know you and he ever had a thing.”

“There’s plenty I haven’t told you. I have layers. You gotta take your time and peel them back.”

Mabel chuckled again and pointed at Adrian. “You’re nasty. Nasty, nasty nasty.”

“True story, Miss Mabel.” Adrian winked at her.

She shook her head, leaned down, and kissed Connor quickly on the top of his head and then with a wave she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Adrian leaned across the table. “Ya’ll want to hear the story about the night with Andrew and me?”

“No!” Connor and I shouted in unison, and then chuckled. Connor took over. “We most definitely do not. I swear you’re as bad as Gilbert.”

“I’m not sure anybody’s as bad as Gilbert.” Adrian lifted a chicken leg and tore off a bite, not bothering to swallow before he continued to speak. “Now your ex”—he poked the chicken leg in my direction, crumbs flying—“he’s almost as bad as Gilbert. Pretty sure there’s not one man in the city limits he hasn’t slept with. Me included.” I kicked Adrian’s leg under the table, and he let out a holler. “What was that for? I wasn’t insulting him. The man’s good at what he does.”

Connor had straightened across the table, and I could feel him staring at me. I adamantly avoided his gaze and sought for a subject change. “You know, Adrian, Miss Mabel got me thinking. Doesn’t she have a couple grandkids in high school? Maybe they’d be looking for summer jobs.”

Adrian was bent over, rubbing his shin. “We’re gonna need a lot more than summer help if you keep kicking me.”

“Which ex?”

Connor’s voice was quiet enough it somehow got both of our attention, more so than if he’d spoken at normal volume. I glanced into his hazel eyes and looked away quickly, not able to stand the accusation I saw there.

Adrian answered for me. “Seth, of course.” He glared at me for another second and then turned his attention to Connor. “You know what I mean. After all this time, you had to have played around with Seth. You can’t argue the man’s got talent.”

Though he answered Adrian, I could still feel his stare on me. “Nope. Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”

I looked back at him then. Seth had been my first, but not last, attempt at making Connor jealous. I’d barely been eighteen, hooked up with Seth, and then told Connor all about it.

It had worked.

As a result, though I knew in the years since then that Connor had slept with as many people as I had, he’d steered clear of Seth Marino. They’d been friends but never anything else.

“Well, Connor, I gotta say, you missed your chance.” I marveled how at ease Adrian sounded, that as well as he knew me, he hadn’t picked up on the tension between Connor and me in that moment. “Now that he’s your brother’s ex, you can’t go have fun on that playground. There’s not too many rules, but that’s one of them.”

Connor finally looked away from me and turned to Adrian. “Maybe you should take another ride.”

Adrian flinched at that. “Nope, I’d never do that to Micah. The bro code. Seth is off-limits to me now too.”

Before long, the conversation changed, thank God. It seemed Adrian had been considering getting some tattoo work done, so he and Connor got lost in shoptalk while I tried to figure out how to salvage the night.

Turned out, I didn’t have to. Adrian had barely finished his meal when he glanced at his cell. “Well, I hate to eat and run….” He leaned back, pulled out his wallet, and took out some cash to toss on the table. “I have somebody to meet. Granted, they’re not as fun as Seth, but they’ll do. One of the boys from Olema. You know, I like to mix it up.”

I barely paid attention as goodbyes were said. Before I knew it, he was gone and Connor was staring at me from across the table once more.

“You and Seth broke up?”

I nodded.

“When?”

“The night of the Meat Market.” I sighed. “I drove over to him right after I left the school. I had to end it.”

“That was over a week ago.” Those eyes I loved more than any others searched mine, daring me not to look away. I didn’t. “Why?”

I nearly laughed. “You know why.”